Portugal’s population hits 11.4 million as foreigners now make up 14%

Portugal’s population has reached a record 11.4 million residents, with immigration entirely responsible for the country’s recent demographic growth as foreign nationals now account for 14% of all inhabitants.

New figures show that Portugal’s resident population stood at 11,424,031 at the end of 2025 – an increase of 36,809 people compared with 2024.

While the growth rate seems modest at 0.32%, it marks the continuation of a demographic tornado that has transformed the country over the past five years.

Between 2021 and 2025, Portugal gained 824,914 residents — a rise of 7.8% — driven overwhelmingly by record migration flows.

Immigration keeps population growing

The figures underline the extent to which Portugal’s population growth now depends overwhelmingly on immigration.

In 2025, the country recorded a positive migration balance of 70,862 people, more than offsetting a natural population decline of 34,053, as deaths once again exceeded births.

The pattern has been consistent for several years. Portugal posted exceptionally high net migration gains of 371,277 people in 2022, 307,288 in 2023 and 216,629 in 2024.

Without those arrivals, Portugal’s population would have continued to shrink, leaving the country unable to ‘support itself’ vis-a-vis pensions/ the labour market, etc.

The data provides the clearest evidence yet that immigration is not simply the principal driver of demographic growth in a country facing long-term population ageing and persistently low birth rates, it is absolutely critical to the very survival of the country.

Foreign population more than doubles

The number of foreign residents rose to 1,597,539 in 2025, representing 14% of the total population.

Compared with 2021, the foreign population increased by 849,384 people, meaning it has more than doubled in just four years.

The majority of foreign residents are of working age, accounting for 86.1% of the total, helping to fill labour shortages across sectors ranging from agriculture and construction to tourism and services.

Nationals from outside the European Union represented 89.5% of all foreign residents.

Brazil remains largest foreign community

Brazil remains by far the largest source country, with 574,195 residents in Portugal — equivalent to 35.9% of all foreign nationals. The Brazilian population has more than doubled since 2021.

Other major foreign communities include:

Angola: 103,140 residents

India: 93,683

Cape Verde: 76,099

Nepal: 56,866

Bangladesh: 56,724

Guinea-Bissau: 53,555

Algarve has highest proportion of foreign residents

The country’s population remains concentrated in the north, with 3.79 million residents, or 33.2% of the national total.

Greater Lisbon accounts for 21.1%, followed by the Centre region with 15.5%.

However, the fastest growth has occurred in areas most exposed to migration and urban expansion.

The Algarve, for instance, recorded the strongest population increase between 2021 and 2025 – growing by 13.8%, ahead of the Setúbal Peninsula (12.8%), Greater Lisbon (10.6%) and Oeste e Vale do Tejo (9.7%).

Greater Lisbon remains home to 34.2% of all foreign residents in Portugal – but the Algarve has the highest concentration, with foreign nationals accounting for 27.9% of the region’s population. In some municipalities (certainly in the rural municipality of Aljezur) foreign nationals in the last census already accounted for almost 50% of the local population. By now, the figure will be higher).

Ageing crisis continues

But, despite the population increase, Portugal’s demographic challenges remain acute.

The ageing index climbed to 188.8 elderly people for every 100 young people in 2025, up from 178.3 in 2021.

Children aged up to 14 now represent just 12.4% of the population – while the median age stands at 45.8 years.

This will undoubtedly change as the resident foreign population of work-age people start having, or start adding to their, families. But, as reports have already started remarking, the figures paint a stark picture of a country increasingly reliant on immigration to sustain population growth, economic activity and public finances, while continuing to grapple with an ageing population, low birth rates and a persistent natural decline.

For policymakers, the latest data confirms that immigration is no longer merely supplementing Portugal’s demographic trends — it is preventing population decline altogether.

Source material: Executive Digest